The company has ceased restricting hotels in setting lower prices in other sales channels.
The Dutch company informed the Antimonopoly Service of the execution of the order. Booking.com B.V. changed the General Terms of Service and the Privilege Program and ceased applying parity of prices and rooms to Russian hotels.
As a reminder, in December 2020, the FAS Russia completed the consideration of the antimonopoly case against Booking, initiated as a result of considering the appeal of the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA RUSSIA.
The service concluded that the company had abused its dominant position in the accommodation aggregator services market. Booking.com imposed on hotels and hostels the terms of an agreement on the need to provide and comply with the parity of prices and rooms and the terms of interaction with closed user groups.
This meant that hotels could not set prices lower for their services in other sales channels than on booking.com. They were also limited in their ability to provide their services on other sites freely.
FAS Russia found that the applied parity conditions lead (or may lead) to the restriction of competition in the market and infringement of the interests of hotels.
Based on the results of consideration of the antimonopoly case, the department issued an order to the company to terminate the application of parity of prices and numbers.
In addition, the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal of the city of Moscow recognized the decision and order of the FAS Russia as legal.
Source: FAS
